Tractor hitch



c. R. R'ANEYYY ET AL I I ,967,326

July 24, '1934.

- TRACTOR HITCH Filed Jun 25. 1952 V 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W NM mm M mm mm mm T kw was July 24, 1934.

C. R. RANEY El AL TRACTOR HITCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 23, 19562 Patented July 24, 1934' UNITED STATES mcroam-rcn clemma l. Barley,

and AlbertB.

Welt! Kenilworth, Ill. asllgnors to later a New Jersey munal-notations! Applieation'lnne as, use, Serial No. users 3 Claims.) (01. lee-14) This invention relates to a hitch for tractor drawn and operated implements. 1 4

A principal object of the invention is to pro- I vide an improved hitch'whlch permits complete a flexibility of the tractor with respect to the implement, that is, free pivoting or angular movement in any direction. A Another prlncipal'object is to provide, in combination with such an improved hitch, power transmitting mechanism from the tractor 'to the implement which is constructed to operate in a satisfactory manner in all angular positions of the-tractor relative to the implement.

Another object is to provide a combined hitch 1g and power take-offconnection particularly adapted for track-laying tractors in'whlch the drawbar is usually low and close to the tractor me and with which very short turns are often e. 1 I go These objects and others, which will be apparent as the description proceeds, are accomplished by a construction as shown inthe drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, showing the rear g end of a track-laying tractor and the forward portion of an implement drawn by the tractor; Figure 2isanenlargedplanviewoftheh1tch between the tractor and the implement;

Figureii is a sectional view takenon a trans-. verse vertical plane at the rear of the connecting member 27 in the direction towards the tractor and. i i

new 4 is a vertical sectional view taken through the eenter'of the connecting member. as which Joins the tractor to the implement. 4 In the drawings a portion of a track-laying tractor of" a. conventional construction is shown. The rear of the main frame 10. the driver's seat 7 ll, andaportionofatrack chain 12 canbeseen in Figure 1. An arcuate drawbar 13, extending transversely behind the tractor, is secumd by bolts at its ends teens 14 which are mountedaging the power take-oil shaft. The drawings .showaportionofaharvesterthresberhavlnga mainframe 18 supportedbywheels,oneofwhich, 10.isshown.'8aidframe carrieatwoforwardly extending draft members 20 which are brought 1 togstherattbeirforward ndlandr a d rsecued members 21 and 23 is formed with a vertical bore, through which the pin 24 extends. A stub shaft 26 is carried by the connecting member 25, extending substantially horizontally there- .from. Said shaft extends through a bearing sleeve or journal formed as part of a connecting or attaching frame 27. The sleeve is arranged longitudinally, that is, parallel to the line of draft. The shaft 26 ishe'ld against movement inan axial direction with respect to the sleeve by a retaining pin 28 beyond the forward end of the sleeve. The connecting frame 27, in addition to the sleeve referred to, includes two outwardly, forwardly and downwardly extending attaching arms 27'. Said arms are shaped to.

obtain sufficient strength and in the construction as illustrated are welded to the sleeve portion to form an integral connecting frame.

At their forward ends each of the arms 27' is formed with a pair of spaced ears 28', all of which are provided with transversely aligned openings. An attaching structure 29. secured to" the drawbar 13 bythreaded extensions 30, is formed with a transversely extending portion 31 and vertical cruon sz, which are formed at their lower ends as e threaded extensions: 30. Said vertical portions fit between the ears on the arms 27' and are provided with openings aligned with the openings in the ears. A. pin 33 extends through the ears of each arm and through the corresponding portion 32, thereby securing the connecting frame 2'! to the attaching structure 29 for rotation therewith about a transverse horizontal axis. As a means of bracing the transverse portion 31 of the attaching structure 29. a rod-like element 34 connected to a member 34' held inthe ,clevis 15' by the pin 16 is rigidly secured at transversely spaced points to said transverse portion. Nuts threaded to the element on each side of the transverse member hold the elements adjustably in position.

The shaft 17 is connected to one knuckle of a double-Y type of universal ioint.35. The other knuckle of said joint is secured on a short hollow shaft 36.' Said shaft is slidablyand nonrotatably mounted on a shaft 3'1 which is secured to one. knuckle of a secondv universal joint 38. Theshaftswands'lcanbeconsideredasan extensibleshaftandformtheintermediateshaft betweenthedrivinashaft l'l'andadrivenshaft aaconnectedtothesecond-kmickleof the universal'ioint as. mam a9 is'rotatably mount- Yule angle of the'driving shaft 1'! with respect to ed on the implement frame 18 by bearings carried by the downwardly depending brackets and .41. Said shaft is to be connected tothe mechanism of the implement, this connection not being shown. 1

It will be noted that the forwardly located universal joint is in close proximity to the transverse axis of the attaching frame. Said universal joint is substantially the same longitudinal distance from the vertical pivot of the draft frame on the connecting member as the rear- -wardly located universal joint.

In the operation of an embodiment .of the in-.-

vention, as illustrated, the implement is drawn over the field, draft being transmitted through the drawbar 14, the attachingstructure 29,- and the connecting frame 27, the connecting member 25 to the draft frame ofthe implement formed by the bars 22' and the draft members 20. In an unbalanced implement such as a harvester thresher there is likely to be considerable weight on the draft frame where it is connected to the tractor. For thatreason, it-is desirable tohave the supporting pivot as close to the tractor as possible. This has been-accomplished by pivoting the connecting frame 27 closely adjacent the rear end of the-main frame of the tractor. This is also. an important featurewhen using track-' laying tractors, as an excessive angle of tipping of the implementframe would result from the normal tipping of the track frame, if the draft frame of the implement were not pivoted very 1 close to'thef rear portion of the track chains. 'As previously described, the attaching structure 29, which extends substantially vertically upward from the drawbar to form the point of attach-v ment, is braced in that position by the rod-like element 84, which is secured tothe member 34 held in the clevis15' by the pin 16. It is therefore evident that the clevis, while being a part of a conventional drawbar, is in this construction used for bracing the supplemental draft means.

\ clear the very short turn possible with the The rotation of the shaft 26 on the connecting member 25in the sleeve portion of the connecting frame 27 takes care of the angular movement of the tractor and implement with respect to each other about a longitudinal, horizontal axis.

shafts lying in the same plane, which may be termed the driving shaft, the intermediate shaft, and the. driven shaft, connected by universal joints of the double-Y'type, it is well known that,

if-the angular rotation of the-driving shaft is uniform, the axes of the knuckles on the intermediate shaft are parallel, and the angles which the driving and driven shafts make with the intermediate shaft are equal, the driven shaft will have the same uniform rateof rotation as the driving shaft. This known action of universal .joints has been taken into,c'onsideration in the design of the device of thisinventionr As-previouslystated, the universal joints .35 and 38 are placed the samedist'ance fore and aft from the vertical pivot on the pin 24. At any degree of turn of the tractor with respect to ,the implemflnt,

, with the increasing angularity of the shafts connected. Angles up to 40 areusuallyconsidered practical. By the use of two joints as utilized by applicants, and by providing means for maintaining the angles of eachset of shafts, equal power can be transmittedwith the driving and driven shafts at angle, and even somewhat greater angles, if the torque is not excessive.

Although applicants have shown and described only one preferred form of their improved hitch, it is understood thatithey claim as their,in-

vention all modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A hitch for tractors comprising, in combination with the drawbar of thetractor, an attaching frame pivoted to said drawbar on a transverse axis, an' implement draft frame pivoted to the attaching frame on a vertical axis. anda power drive connection including} drive shaft mounted on the tractor, a driven, shaft mounted on the implement draft frame; and an intermediate shaft connected to said shafts by universal joints, said Joints being positioned substantially equal distances fore and aft from the vertical pivot of the draft frame on the attaching frame.

2. A hitch for tractors comprising, in combination with the drawbar of the tractor, an attaching frame pivoted to said drawbar on a transverse axis, aconnecting' member'pivoted to said frame on a longitudinal axis, an implement draft frame pivoted to the connecting member on a vertical axis, and a power drive connection including a drive shaft mounted on the tractor, a driven shaft mounted on the implement draftframe, and an extensible intermediate shaft connected to said shafts by universal Joints, said Joints being positioned substantially equal distances fore and'aft from the vertical pivot of the draft frame on the connecting member; and the forward universal joint being substantially in transverse alignment with the pivot of the attaching frame on the drawbar.

3. A hitch for tractors comprising, in com binationwith a tractor, an attaching frame piviotally connected to the tractor on atransver'se axis, -a connecting member pivoted to said frame i on a longitudinal axis, an implement draft frame pivoted to the connecting member on a vertical axis, and a power, drive connection including a drive shaft mountedon the tractor, a driven shaft. mounted on the implement draft frame, and an extensible intermediate. shaft connected .to said shafts by universal joints, said Joints being positioned substantially equal distances fore and aft from the vertical pivot of the draft frame on the connecting member, and the forward universal joint being substantially in transerse alignment with the pivot of the attaching frame on the tractor.

CLEMMA R. RANEY V ALBERT ngwml'rvf 

